The news recently hit that we’ll have to wait a little longer for one of our most-anticipated films of the fall, but today our first images have arrived. After debuting Crazy Heart to great success, director Scott Cooper is following it up with Out of the Furnace, which was previously set for an October bow. Now set for a limited November 27th release and expansion on December 6th, USA Today have the first stills from the film.
Featuring Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson, the former actor says his character Russell Baze is not “a slick action character….but he finds himself having to confront these people in order to do the right thing. He’s only got his own fortitude and will power, nothing else.” Shooting in Braddock, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), Cooper said that Bale actually recorded a local man to get the perfect accent and would listen “to it endlessly, even between takes.” Describing some of the film’s themes, Cooper also says, “The film is also a testament to the steel workers who have suffered through trying economic times.”
He adds, “It shows the plight of the citizens of Braddock. They have banded together and emerged stronger now. It’s much like the process of what steel undergoes — intense heat which emerges stronger as it comes out of the furnace.” We can expect a trailer soon, which will hopefully include some of the original soundtrack from Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder (whose Release was an inspiration for Cooper as he was writing the screenplay, and can be listened to below). One can also check out the synopsis, another new still and teaser poster below for the film also starring Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker, Casey Affleck, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shepard and Boyd Holbrook.
The film is a drama about fate, circumstance, and redemption. Russell and his younger brother live in the economically depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, his brother is lured into one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast – a mistake that will almost cost him everything. Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom, or risk it all to seek justice for his brother.
What do you think of our first look?